Thursday, Nov. 7
Numbers 3:21 – Chapter 4 Click here to read
If the Levites are to serve as consecrated to God in place of the firstborn males of Israel, it’s not surprising that Numbers would quantify that with a way to ensure that the number of male Levites was equal to the number of firstborn males being redeemed…and find a way to adjust if the number wasn’t equal.
Here we again go back to the final chapter of Leviticus, when the value of redeeming a male child between 1 month and 5 years of age is given as five shekels. When the number of male Levites at least 1 month old is compared to the number firstborn males at least 1 month old from the other tribe, there are 237 left unredeemed; for each of them a five-shekel payment is required to even the books.
In chapter 4 we go into details of how each clan and family is to serve. This service ranges from ceremonial priestly duties to the physical labor of packing up and moving. Each task is laid out and assigned to a specific group.
Where the other tribes had been counted beginning with age 20 for military service, the age range for Tabernacle service is more limited, with only men from 30 to 50 being counted.
If 30 was considered the appropriate age to begin priestly service, it could be significant that Jesus began his own ministry at about the age of 30.